Device for distributing air, gas, or the like in liquids



y 5, 1953 A. RUBIN 2,637,541

DEVICE FOR DISTRIBUTING AIR. GAS OR THE LIKE IN LIQUIDS Filed Feb. 28, 1951 I n IIen tor 319094425? Patented May 5, 1953 DEVICE FOR DISTRIBUTING AIR, GAS, OR THE LIKE IN LIQUIDS Alexander Rubin, Tel Aviv, Israel Application February 28, 1951, Serial No. 213,152

2 Claims.

Devices for distributing air or gas in liquids particularly in baths, are known. According to a known construction such devices comprise perforated or slotted tubes, stuffed with felt or another iiibrous or an air permeable material, into which tubes the air or ga is introduced to escape therefrom thoroughly dispersed, to enter the liquid in the form of minute bubbles. Such devices are used for various purposes, whenever liquids are to be permeated by a gas or for the aeration of fish tanks and the like more. It has been found that with such devices, the aim of which initially is to produce very small bubbles, this is not satisfactorily attained; to be sure, the air is finely dispersed during its passage through the fibrous matter, but it again gathers to form relatively large bubbles at the exit through the perforations or slots of the pipes.

When a device of this kind is used for therapeutic treatment in baths, it is usually combined with a wooden grid the bars of which alternate with the pipes. Thus only part of the combined device is actively emanating bubbles for the purpose in view. It is the object of the present invention to improve devices of the kind referred to, obviating as far as possible the drawbacks mentioned above. It is a characteristic feature of the new device, which will be described, that the surface which is giving off the air bubbles is considerably enlarged (as compared with devices of this kind known hitherto) without practically increasing the allover size of the implement. According to the invention this remarkable effect is attained thereby that the surface of the device wherein the perforations or exits for the gas are provided, is of trapezoidal cross section.

It will easily be understood that in such a device not only its upwardly directed plane surface but also the sloping side walls can be provided with air or gas emanating holes, thus increasing the number of these latter. By a more or less close juxtaposition of such elements an almost continuous bubble delivering surface is obtained, which, of course, is much greater than a single plane surface extending through the same space. The juxtaposed trapezoidal elements offer also a support for an even distribution of the air within the device, and before entering the stuffing, the air is led into the interior by small perforated tubes, free from stufiing and extending approximately in the center line of each element and throughout its entire length or such a part of it as may be desirable while the space between the tubes and the trapezoidal body of the deivce is stuffed with fibrous material.

The invention is illustrated by way of example 2 in several embodiments in the annexed drawing wherein:

Fig. 1 shows the cross-section of a single trapezoidal aerating element;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a device composed of several such elements made integral;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical section on line IIIIII of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 shows a cross-section on line IV-IV of Fig. 2;

Fig. 1 shows the invention in its simplest form. It comprises an elongated hollow body composed of an upper part I, being a perforated sheet of metal or similar material bent so as to be of open trapezoidal cross-section having flanges 3 at its longitudinal edges, and of a bottom or base plate 2, the two parts being connected by screwing or otherwise. End walls are provided, one of them having an air intake (not shown). The interior is stuifed with felt t, or the like fibrous or permeable material. Part lis perforated throughout its length on its top as well as on its sloping side faces.

Figs. 2 to 4 show the device in a modified form. A metal sheet Ia perforated throughout, is bent so as to be equa1 to a multitude of trapezoidally shaped parts I, creating compartments parallel and adjacent to each other, with flanges to provided only at the outermost longitudinal edges. By these flanges part la is connected to a common bottom 2a. Further connections may be provided at intermediary points, say at the lines of contact 3, 3". End walls 5, G are provided. End wall 6 has openings, each facing the approximate centre of each compartment. In these openings is fixed a thin perforated tube 7 with one open end 'I, the tube extending through the compartment to the opposite end wall 5 which is closed. End 7" of tube '8 is also closed. To wall 6 is attached a hollow casing 8 open at one side to all tube openings l and provided at the opposite side with an air intake 9. Such air intake could, of course, also be provided at one end of casing 8 as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2. The space around tube 1 is filled with felt 3 or similar material, the interior of said tube remaining free.

What I claim is:

1. Device for distributing and diffusing air or gas in liquids, characterised in that it consists of elongated walls arranged to form a. body of trapezoidal cross-section closed at both ends by walls, the top wall of which is plane and the lateral walls of which are outwardly sloping, the top wall as well as the lateral walls being provided with perforations, a perforated air or gas supplying tube being fixed in an end wall 01' the said body, the space between the tube and the walls of the body being filled with a porous material, so that the supplied air or gas passes through that material and the perforated top and o lateral walls of the body into a liquid in which the device is immersed.

2. A multitude of devices as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that these devices are connected with each other to form a transportable unit, wherein the lateral walls of each two juxtaposed devices enclose an angle which is open at the upper side of the unit.

ALEXANDER RUBIN.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 370,936 Drake Oct. 4, 1887 1,190,638 Furman July 11, 1916 10 1,612,625 Ferguson Dec. 28, 1926 2,186,152 Seitz Jan. 9, 1940 

